


A Fragile Little Flame

by phizzwizards



Series: Like Ships Without Anchors [2]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 16:47:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17811722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phizzwizards/pseuds/phizzwizards
Summary: After their kiss, Archie tries to make his feelings for Kevin clear, but Kevin just can't believe that Archie Andrews really wants to be with him, and when Kevin's dad calls a town-wide curfew, it becomes a lot more difficult for them to be together at all.





	A Fragile Little Flame

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this immediately after finishing Like Ships Without Anchors and the events take place immediately after that fic ends, which means nothing after season 2, episode 3 matters here.
> 
> You can thank the lovely reader who reminded me how much I wanted to write this thing a few weeks ago by actually prompting the only part I had already written, everyone who ever asked for a sequel, and, as always, Jen, who encourages all my worst ideas, for this thing finally existing, but if you're here for plot, I have precious little to offer you.
> 
> I hope the 15 month wait was worth it.

Kevin hadn’t slept. His dad had called the night before, when Betty was still there, to let Kevin know that he wouldn’t be home for a while. Betty had wanted to stay with Kevin but, with the Black Hood having been seen, her mom had insisted she wanted her daughter at home. She had said Kevin was welcome to spend the night too but he had wanted to be in his own bed. Not because he thought there was any chance he would sleep, but because of the other thing that had happened that night.

Archie had kissed him.

Well, he supposed he had kissed Archie first, but Archie had kissed him back. And he had meant it too. Kevin had called him in the early hours of the morning and Archie had said that he wanted to do it again.

That was why he hadn’t slept.

He felt awful about it, really. His dad was out there risking his life to stop the Black Hood, two people had been attacked, but all Kevin could think about was the way Archie’s lips had felt on his, the way Archie’s muscles had tensed under his hand, the very fact that Archie Andrews had let Kevin kiss him, and kissed Kevin right back.

At around six a.m. he gave up on sleep.

Leaving his bedroom felt like re-entering the real world after spending the night in an Archie-induced dream. His dad still wasn’t home and outside of his own bedroom it was a lot more difficult not to think about the reason for that, or the fact that Archie had run out of the house the night before to go chasing after the Black Hood too.

Kevin took his time showering and brushing his teeth, mostly to stop himself from checking his phone every five seconds. He wasn’t sure who he wanted to hear from more, Archie or his dad, but he nearly threw the thing across the room when Betty texted to ask if his dad was home yet.

He couldn’t text Archie first. They had become really good friends over the past few weeks and on the phone that morning Archie had said that he wanted to be more than that, but it still felt too good to be true. What if Archie had just been swept up in the moment? What if he regretted it in the cold light of day? Kevin had told Archie it was okay if he just wanted to be friends but now he wasn’t so sure that would be okay, actually. He didn’t know if he could just be Archie’s friend with the memory of Archie’s hands on his skin still fresh in his mind.

Thankfully, Kevin didn’t get too much of a chance to worry about how he would go back to pretending he didn’t want to kiss Archie every time they were together, because his dad finally walked through the front door, looking every bit like a man who had been out looking for a murderer all night.

‘Dad.’ Kevin rushed into the hallway and grabbed his dad before he had even had a chance to take off his hat. For a moment they just stood there, clinging on to each other, and Kevin felt all the worry he hadn’t been allowing himself to think about leave his body at once. He was so tired.

‘You look exhausted,’ Kevin’s dad said when they pulled away and he finally got a look at his son. ‘Did you sleep at all last night?’

‘I could say the same thing to you,’ Kevin replied, avoiding the question. ‘Did you get him?’

Kevin’s dad let out a long sigh and shook his head. ‘No. We thought we were on his tail last night but he just… disappeared. Some of the other guys are still out looking but we’ve been over the whole town tonight. He must have some damn good hiding place we don’t know about.’

‘So you’re going back out?’ Kevin asked, worry prickling at his spine again.

His dad nodded. ‘Just came back for a shower and a change of clothes, then I’m headed to the mayor’s office to organise a town meeting for this afternoon. We’re moving ahead with the curfew. I don’t want anyone on the streets after sunset until we’ve caught this guy.’

‘Starting tonight?’ Tonight was supposed to be Kevin’s date with Archie.

‘Starting tonight.’ Kevin’s dad patted him on the shoulder on his way to the stairs. ‘And you can tell Archie that applies to him and his Circle too. If I see any of those boys outside after dark, they’ll be spending the rest of the night at the station.’

At least now Kevin had an excuse to call Archie.

‘Hey.’ Archie sounded tired when he picked up the phone. ‘What’s up?’

Kevin shoved his feet into the first pair of shoes he could find and ducked out of the front door. ‘Did I wake you up?’ He pulled his phone away from his ear to check the time. It wasn’t even seven yet. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s okay.’ Archie yawned into the phone. ‘I’m glad you called.’

Kevin felt himself blush despite the cold morning air. He was so glad Archie couldn’t see him right then. ‘You are?’

‘Yeah.’ It sounded like Archie was smiling but Kevin refused to get his hopes up. ‘I fell asleep last night before we got a chance to plan our date.’

‘About that…’ Kevin would have given anything not to have to tell Archie about the curfew right then. All he wanted was to go on a normal date with a cute boy but Riverdale just had to be the kind of town that had masked murderers running around. ‘Dad’s calling a town meeting today to announce the curfew. No one’s allowed out after sunset, starting tonight.’

‘Really?’

‘Really.’

Archie was silent for a moment that felt far, far too long on Kevin’s end of the phone.

‘Well I guess we’ll have to eat dinner early then.’

‘You still want to go out tonight?’

‘Don’t you?’

‘Of course,’ Kevin replied, far too quickly. ‘I mean, if you still do.’

‘Great. So we’ll have dinner at four p.m. like my grandma.’

Kevin laughed. ‘Okay. That sounds good.’

‘Good. Listen, I’d better call the guys and tell them the Red Circle is disbanded for the time being, since I’m guessing the curfew applies to us too.’

‘The curfew definitely applies to the Red Circle. My dad was very clear about that, actually.’

‘Well, I don’t want to piss off the sheriff if I’m going to be dating his son, do I?’

‘I suppose not,’ Kevin said, trying very hard to make his voice sound normal when he knew that his face was on fire.

‘I’ll see you at Pop’s at four?’

‘See you at four.’

The curfew no longer felt like such a bad thing, after all. At least it meant Kevin would now have a few less hours to worry about what to wear.

-

By four o’clock, after having spent the whole day in the house on his own, Kevin had managed to convince himself that Archie probably wouldn’t even show up at Pop’s, and that if he did show up, it would only be to tell Kevin that actually he had thought about it and he didn’t like guys after all, or worse, he just didn’t like Kevin. Also, he was probably going to get back together with Veronica.

So Kevin was surprised when he saw Archie sitting alone at a booth in the corner of the diner. Archie’s whole face lit up when he saw Kevin. Kevin’s stomach did a stupid little flip. He couldn’t believe that he could make Archie Andrews look so happy.

For a second Kevin let himself just believe what was happening. That somehow, through some strange miracle, he was about to have a real date with Archie Andrews. Then he looked around. Pop’s was packed with people. The town meeting had just finished and it seemed like everyone in Riverdale had gone straight to Pop’s afterwards.

Kevin suddenly felt way too hot in the shirt and jumper he had spent a full hour choosing earlier that afternoon.

Archie stood up as Kevin approached the table. He looked the same as always, effortlessly handsome in a t-shirt, jeans, and a cardigan. His smile made Kevin think of the night before, when Archie had lain on his bed with his arm over his eyes, smiling just as widely.

’Hey.’ Archie leaned forward as though he was going to kiss Kevin right there in front of the whole town, but Kevin swooped down into the booth before he could. Archie only faltered for a second before sitting down again, across from Kevin. ‘Is everything okay?’ he asked.

‘Fine.’ Kevin smiled. Archie smiled too. Kevin could not stop thinking about all the other people in the diner. He picked up his menu, even though he had been eating at Pop’s his entire life and knew exactly what he was going to order already, and put it down again straight away. ‘This is weird,’ he admitted. ‘Not bad weird,’ he corrected. ‘Just… weird.’

Archie laughed and Kevin felt his nerves start to fade. ‘It doesn’t have to be weird,’ Archie said. ‘Just pretend we’re eating lunch in the cafeteria.’ Archie picked up his menu with one hand and reached the other across the table to take Kevin’s hand, as though it was something he did all the time. Kevin rolled his eyes but he didn’t let go.

Once Kevin realised that everyone else was too busy talking about the town meeting to pay any attention to them in the corner, he finally started to relax. It really wasn’t so different from all the times they had eaten lunch together over the past few weeks. Except, of course, that Archie kept absent-mindedly running his thumb over Kevin’s hand as he talked. Kevin struggled to keep the grin off his face. Archie didn’t even try.

Then, out of nowhere, Jughead appeared.

‘Hey,’ he said, like someone who had no idea he was interrupting his friend’s date. Kevin panicked and pulled his hand away from Archie’s as Jughead slid into the booth next to Archie. Jughead didn’t seem to have noticed anything but Kevin had to try very hard to ignore the hurt look that crossed Archie’s face. ‘Thank God you guys are here, there are no free tables anywhere and I haven’t even had lunch yet. I thought I was going to have to sit with Weatherbee.’

‘Uh, Jug,’ Archie started, but Kevin interrupted him before he could finish.

‘No Betty?’ he asked, refusing to look anywhere near Archie. Kevin’s nerves had flooded back the second Jughead had appeared and, though he couldn’t have said why exactly, he really didn’t want Archie to tell Jughead what was going on. Not right then, with them all sat under the fluorescent lights of Pop’s, and half the town talking about the Black Hood around them.

‘She’s working on an article for the Blue and Gold about last night’s attack. She’s probably hounding your dad for a quote as we speak.’ Jughead flagged down a waitress and ordered himself two burgers, a side of fries, and a large coke. Archie tapped Kevin’s foot with his own under the table and shot him a questioning look. Kevin ignored it. ‘So,’ Jughead asked, turning back to them, ‘what were you guys talking about?’

-

In the end Jughead only left because Archie said he needed to grab a few things from the store before curfew. Kevin knew it was a lie but he also knew he was going to have to explain his weird behaviour sooner or later. They all headed out together and Archie and Kevin stood silently outside Pop’s, watching Jughead speed away on his dad’s motorbike. Kevin was still watching the dust settle on the road when Archie stepped out in front of him, his hands in his jeans pockets and his big brown eyes full of confusion.

‘Why didn’t you want Jughead to know we were on a date?’ he asked, getting straight to the point.

Kevin had been thinking about his answer to this question the whole time they had been eating but he still didn’t really have one that made sense.

‘I just thought maybe you’d want to tell him yourself. When I’m not there.’

‘Why?’

Kevin shrugged. ‘He’s your best friend. What if he isn’t cool with it?’ There was some truth to that worry, even if it didn’t feel like the whole truth. Jughead had never seemed to have a problem with Kevin or Joaquin being gay, but there was always a chance he would be different about Archie, even if Kevin did feel mean for thinking it.

‘Jughead?’ Archie asked, looking even more confused than before. ‘You think I care what Jughead will think?’

‘Not just Jughead,’ Kevin explained. ‘This is new… for you. For both of us. Do you really want the whole town to know straight away?’ That felt closer to the truth. There had been so many people in Pop’s.

‘Yes.’ Archie stepped closer and this time he took both of Kevin’s hands in his own. ‘I want everyone to know that I like you, Kevin Keller, and I don’t care what anyone thinks about that. Not even Jughead, who, by the way, will probably just shrug and say ‘cool, pass me the ketchup.’ Besides, I’ve done the whole secret relationship thing before and it didn’t exactly work out.’

‘That was different.’

‘Yes, it was.’

Kevin searched Archie’s eyes and he didn’t see any of the apprehension there that he had been expecting all day. 24 hours ago he had thought Archie Andrews was straight and now they were holding hands in a parking lot and Archie didn’t seem worried about that at all. Kevin made a decision there and then. He owed it to Archie and to himself to stop being such a coward. To stop second guessing Archie’s intentions at every turn.

‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘I guess I’m just used to guys who only want to sneak around in secret.’

‘I don’t want that,’ Archie said.

‘I know.’ Kevin smiled.

Archie smiled back and squeezed Kevin’s hands. ‘I want to do this right.’

Kevin really wanted to kiss Archie again. Right now. He glanced around quickly, making sure there wasn’t anyone outside to see, and pulled Archie around to the back of the diner, where there weren’t any windows. There was a fine line between being brave and making out with someone in front of half the town on a first date.

‘What are you doing?’ Archie asked. By way of answering, Kevin grabbed the front of Archie’s cardigan and pulled him closer. He just caught the smile on Archie’s face before he kissed him.

Kissing Archie was every bit as good as Kevin remembered. He backed into the wall behind him, pulling Archie along easily, and moved his hands down to Archie’s lower back, pulling him even closer. Archie had one hand on Kevin’s jaw and the other on his waist and heat seemed to radiate through Kevin from those two spots. From anywhere, really, that he and Archie touched.

Kevin’s only thought was that he wanted more of that heat. He pushed his hands under Archie’s shirt and was gratified at the shiver he felt move through Archie’s muscles, but Archie pulled back far too soon, letting the cold back in.

‘We should both get back home before the sun starts to set,’ Archie said. They were still standing close enough that Kevin could feel Archie’s heart beating fast through his t-shirt. ‘I don’t want to risk your dad not letting me take you out again.’

Kevin slid his hand into the back pocket of Archie’s jeans and was gratified as Archie tensed at the touch. ‘Or,’ he suggested. ‘You could come back to my place.’

Archie smiled but rather than kiss Kevin again, which was the reaction Kevin had been hoping for, he stepped back so that Kevin’s hand slipped out of his pocket and they were no longer touching at all.

‘Not so fast. I told you I want to do this right.’

Kevin crossed his arms. ‘What is that supposed to mean?’

‘It means,’ Archie said, wrestling one of Kevin’s hands free so he could drag Kevin out from behind Pop’s by it. ‘That you have to let me take you on a real date. One without Jughead.’ They got to Kevin’s car and Archie let go of his hand. ‘I don’t want to rush this.’

‘Fine,’ Kevin said, although he certainly wouldn’t have minded rushing things a little more. ‘Why don’t I take you on a date tomorrow instead, for lunch, to make up for letting Jughead ruin this one?’

‘That sounds good.’ Archie leaned in and kissed Kevin softly on the lips, pulling away far too quickly again. This was a habit Kevin was going to have to break. Fast. ’See you tomorrow.’

Archie waited for Kevin to get in his truck and drive away before leaving himself. Kevin could see him in his rearview mirror, standing in the pink, early sunset light, and he couldn’t believe that it was him Archie was watching.

He really couldn’t believe he had let Jughead Jones crash his date. He would not let his nerves get the better of him like that again.

-

Kevin chose something a little bit more lowkey for his second date with Archie. There was this place down by Sweetwater River, where he knew he would be able to park his truck close enough to just see the water through the trees. It was secluded enough that they probably wouldn’t run into anyone, but not so secluded that Archie would think Kevin was trying to sneak around again. And there was very little chance of Jughead taking a stroll there in the middle of the day.

Kevin left a note in the kitchen at home just in case his dad came back while he was out, letting him know he was with Archie, although not mentioning that it was a date just yet. He figured that was probably a conversation better had in person. And maybe after the Black Hood had been found and his dad had been able to get a full night’s sleep.

Archie was waiting outside when Kevin arrived at his house, sitting on the front steps. He jumped up when he saw Kevin’s truck, smiling like he had when he’d seen Kevin at Pop’s the night before. Kevin’s stomach did that little flip again. Archie got in the truck and kissed Kevin before they had even said hi.

‘Good morning to you too,’ Kevin said.

‘Sorry,’ Archie replied, although he didn’t look particularly sorry. ‘I’ve been thinking about doing that all morning.’

‘Don’t apologise. It just means my plan to woo you into abandoning all your principles is already working.’

‘Is that the plan?’

‘Well, it starts with lunch by the river,’ Kevin said, tapping the Pop’s takeaway bag on the seat between them with one hand. ‘But I’m fairly confident it will end with you taking your shirt off.’

Archie laughed. ‘I might start to think you’re only after one thing.’

Kevin grinned at the road ahead. ‘I am after many things from you, Archie Andrews, and that is only the beginning.’

They ate their lunch on a blanket in the back of Kevin’s truck, the radio playing only slightly louder than the sound of the river through the trees. They sat cross-legged, facing each other while they ate, their knees knocking together as they talked. It was exactly what Kevin had wanted it to be. Or it would be, if he could get Archie to kiss him again. And he didn’t think that would be too difficult.

‘I told Veronica about us this morning,’ Archie said, breaking the mood a little bit. The small bite of burger in Kevin’s mouth was suddenly hard to chew. ‘I just didn’t want her hearing about it from anyone else, you know?’

Kevin nodded. He probably should have thought of that himself. ’What did she say?’

‘Archiekins, you are full of surprises.’ Archie quoted, no doubt word for word. ‘She seemed okay with it. She said she was happy for us.’

‘Good.’ Kevin really wanted Veronica to be okay with it. The last thing he needed was to end up fighting with another friend. He and Betty had only just started talking again.

‘I told my dad too,’ Archie said. Kevin put down what was left of his burger. He had been unprepared for Archie to have told Veronica, but this was something else entirely.

‘How did he take it?’

Archie shrugged but he was smiling that special smile he had just for his dad. ‘He didn’t even seem surprised. He just said you were a good kid. Then he told me he loved me, which I guess was his way of telling me he was okay with it.’

Kevin sighed with relief. Not that he had ever really thought that Fred would have a problem with Archie dating a boy, but you could never really tell with parents. He remembered how afraid he had been when he had told his dad he was gay.

‘So that’s Veronica, your dad, Betty… I guess the only person left to tell is Jughead.’

‘Well I could have done that yesterday if someone hadn’t freaked out,’ Archie reminded him.

Kevin stuck out his tongue and Archie laughed.

‘You didn’t have to tell everyone right away, you know.’ Kevin said. ‘I know I said I wanted someone who wasn’t afraid to be out in the open but I would have understood if you needed time to figure out how you feel.’

‘I don’t need time,’ Archie said, simply. ‘I already know I like you.’

‘I don’t just mean me.’ Kevin had been thinking about this all night, the real reason he had freaked out when he had seen all those people at Pop’s the day before. ‘The whole world acts like straight is the default and when you realise you’re not that, you have to figure out what you are, and it’s normal for it to take a while. I don’t want you to rush that because of me.’

‘Oh,’ Archie said, stretching the sound out in a way that made Kevin feel as though Archie understood exactly what he meant, maybe even the parts he hadn’t meant to say. Archie moved so that he was kneeling in front of Kevin and, just like the night before outside Pop’s, took both of Kevin’s hands in his own. ‘This isn’t some kind of experiment, or whatever it is you’re worried it might be. I’m not rushing anything and I’m not about to change my mind and decide I only like girls, after all. I didn’t just figure out I was bi two days ago, okay?’

Kevin nodded. They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, neither saying a word, and Kevin truly felt, for the first time since they had kissed in his bedroom, that they were really on the same page. Archie had said it. He was bi. He wasn’t going to change his mind. Kevin kissed him, because he could.

‘Are you done freaking out now?’ Archie asked when they pulled away.

‘Yes,’ Kevin said. ‘I think so.’

‘Good.’ Archie sat back down, pulling Kevin with him, so that they were next to each other now, with their backs against the cab of the truck, looking out at the river through the trees. Archie put his arm around Kevin’s shoulders, and Kevin’s head naturally rested on Archie’s chest. Kevin felt Archie’s lips brush against the top of his head. He could feel Archie’s heartbeat and that was the thing that finally, truly calmed him down.

They just sat like that for a while, the only sounds the radio, the river, and their own breathing. It was everything Kevin had ever wanted. How stupid he had been to worry so much about what Archie was feeling when Archie was so ready to tell him. All he had to do was ask.

He didn’t want to push his luck, but he almost couldn’t help it. ‘Can I ask you a question?’

‘Anything,’ Archie said.

‘It might be a little heavy for a second date,’ Kevin warned.

He felt the rumble of Archie’s laugh through his chest. ‘This is our first date. Last night doesn’t count.’

Kevin sat up and stared at Archie. ‘What? Last night totally counts.’

‘Jughead was there,’ Archie protested. ‘He ate half my fries and talked about his new favourite true crime podcast for twenty minutes.’

‘Yes,’ Kevin agreed. ‘But before that we held hands at the table, and after he left we made out around the back of Pop’s. In fact, we could actually count it as two dates, with a friendly hang out with Jughead in between.’

Archie shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, there’s no way I’m counting any time spent with Jughead as a date.’

‘But if this is our first date then I have to set back the clock on your stupid ‘not rushing things’ idea.’

‘Well you should have thought about that when you stopped me from telling Jughead to get lost.’

Kevin huffed but settled back down under Archie’s arm again. ‘I didn’t realise you were a Victorian maiden at the time.’

Archie laughed again. ‘What did you want to ask?’

‘It’s definitely too heavy for a first date,’ Kevin said.

Archie jostled Kevin with his shoulder. ‘Just ask.’

‘You said you didn’t just figure out you were bi two days ago, which, yes, in retrospect, makes sense, and I’m very stupid and self obsessed. But when did you figure it out?’

There was a beat of silence before Archie answered, in which Kevin really did think he had pushed his luck too far.

‘Promise you won’t tell anyone?’ he asked.

‘Ooh, juicy,’ Kevin joked, hoping to relieve the tension he had created. He looked up at Archie and was relieved to see a smile on his face. ‘I promise.’

Kevin felt Archie take a deep breath before he carried on. ‘I almost kissed Jughead once.’

‘What?’ Of all the things Archie could possibly have said, Kevin could never have predicted that one.

‘He doesn’t know,’ Archie clarified, quickly. ‘I didn’t actually do anything. We were thirteen, maybe. We were eating breakfast at my house and Jughead was going on about some place he’d read about that he wanted to go see. When he finished his breakfast, he started stealing mine. He was getting closer and closer, trying to nab the food off my plate before I could stop him, like it was a game. Eventually he went for the food on my fork right as I was about to put it in my mouth. His face was right next to mine and he was grinning at me, and I just had this feeling like… like I wanted to kiss him. Then it was over. He leaned back, my dad came back in the kitchen, and that was it. It was just this split second thing. I didn’t have a crush on him or anything, and I never felt like I wanted to kiss him again after that, but… that was the first time I knew I could want to kiss a guy, I guess.’

‘Jughead Jones though,’ Kevin said, after a moment. Archie laughed.

‘You promised not to tell anyone,’ he reminded him.

‘I won’t,’ Kevin assured him. He wasn’t sure he wanted anyone to know he liked a guy who had once thought about kissing Jughead Jones.

‘He would be unbearable if he ever found out,’ Archie said. ‘You have to take that to the grave.’

‘I promise,’ Kevin repeated.

‘What about you?’ Archie asked. ‘When did you know you were gay?’

Kevin winced. He had known Archie would probably ask, but he had so hoped he wouldn’t.

Well, he had promised himself he wouldn’t be a coward any more.

‘It was very soon after I first became friends with Betty,’ he said. ‘She invited me over to her house and her neighbour came over while we were playing on the front lawn.’

Kevin felt Archie sit up a little straighter.

‘Scrawny kid, terrible ginger hair. I had a crush on him immediately. Of course I got over it very quickly,’ he added.

‘Me?’ Archie asked. ‘I was your first crush?’

‘It didn’t last long,’ Kevin said, sitting up so he could look Archie in the eyes and make it very clear that he was telling the truth. ‘I haven’t been pining after you for all these years or anything.’

‘But I was your first crush?’ Archie’s face split into an extremely annoying grin.

Kevin rolled his eyes and began to move further away from Archie. ‘Now I understand why you don’t want Jughead to know.’

Archie grabbed Kevin’s hand, still smiling that shit-eating smile, and pulled Kevin back towards him. ‘That wasn’t when I knew I was bi,’ he said. ‘It was when I first suspected. I knew for sure when you kissed me.’

‘So you did just figure it out two days ago?’ Kevin asked, feeling weirdly triumphant.

Archie shook his head. ‘Shut up,’ he said. Then he kissed Kevin and Kevin completely forgot what they had been talking about.

-

Kevin’s plan had definitely worked. They’d had to leave the clearing because it had started to rain, but there were still a few hours until curfew, and it hadn’t taken much convincing for Archie to agree that they should head back to Kevin’s house.

The whole ride back, there had been an energy between them. They barely spoke, but Kevin knew exactly what it was. They had kissed a lot in the back of the truck, and he had successfully managed to get Archie’s shirt off, just like he said he would, but they hadn’t been able to go too far. Neither one of them wanted to get caught in public in broad daylight doing anything more than making out, and the rain had put a quick stop to it anyway, but when Kevin had suggested they wait out the rain at his house, Archie had agreed straight away.

Kevin abandoned the truck outside, and they ran through the pouring rain into the house, letting the door slam shut behind them. Kevin locked it quickly.

‘I’m soaked,’ Archie said, struggling out of his jacket.

‘I guess we’d better get you out of those wet clothes, then,’ Kevin said, pushing Archie against the wall by the front door.

Archie grinned and pushed his hands under Kevin’s wet shirt, until they came to rest on his waist. Kevin shivered. ‘Seems like you might need to dry off too.’

‘I thought you didn’t put out on the first date,’ Kevin said, his lips grazing Archie’s.

‘We’ve basically been dating for weeks,’ Archie replied, before catching Kevin’s lips in a kiss.

Both boys were soaked through, just from their short run from the truck to the house, making their clothes cling to their skin. Kevin’s shirt pulled every time Archie moved his hands under it, making him wish he could just rip it off. But that would mean moving away from Archie for more than half a second, and Kevin definitely couldn’t do that just yet. He settled instead for running his fingers through Archie’s damp hair, delighting in the soft moan the action elicited, and the very promising reaction he felt elsewhere.

‘Afternoon, Archie,’ a gruff voice said behind them. They both froze, their lips apart but Archie’s hands still holding onto Kevin’s waist, and Kevin’s still buried in Archie’s hair. ‘Kevin.’

‘Good afternoon, Sheriff Keller,’ Archie said, trying his best to sound normal, as though his hands weren’t currently under Kevin’s shirt in the sheriff’s front hallway.

‘Seems it’s probably about time you started calling me Tom,’ Kevin’s dad said. Archie did not respond. Kevin buried his face in Archie’s shoulder and willed time to just freeze so he would never have to turn around and look his dad in the face again. ‘Kevin, can I have a word with you in my office, please?’

‘Be right there,’ Kevin said, his voice considerably higher than normal. He waited a few moments for his dad to leave. ‘Is he gone?’ he whispered.

‘Yes,’ Archie said. Kevin pulled away, reluctantly pushing Archie’s hands back down to his sides. ‘Is he going to arrest me?’ Archie asked.

‘No,’ Kevin said. ‘He’s probably just going to tell me you aren’t allowed in the house when he’s not here any more, which is all the time at the moment so there goes my clever plan to seduce you while he’s busy hunting a murderer. You should go dry off. There are towels in the bathroom. I’ll find you when he’s done embarrassing me.’

Kevin watched Archie head upstairs, allowing himself a small moment to appreciate Archie’s rain soaked jeans before he turned around and headed for his dad’s office.

‘So, how long has that been going on?’ Kevin’s dad asked as soon as Kevin shut the office door behind him.

‘A few days.’ Kevin leant back against the closed door, not wanting to sit down and get any of the chairs wet. Also, wanting the space between him and his dad as a buffer for the wave of awkwardness he knew he was about to experience.

‘A few days,’ his dad repeated. ‘It looked pretty serious for a few days.’

Kevin shrugged. ‘I didn’t see your car outside.’

‘It’s got a busted tail light. One of the deputies dropped me off. And I think you know that’s not the point.’

Kevin sighed. ‘It’s just Archie, Dad. It’s not like it’s some guy I picked up in the woods.’ He winced. He hadn’t meant to say that. ‘Sorry.’

His dad grunted. ‘He’s a good kid, right?’

‘The perfect gentleman.’

‘Looked like it.’

‘Can we get this over with, please?’ Kevin asked. He knew the moment with Archie was well and truly over but that didn’t mean he wanted to drag this conversation out any longer than necessary either.

‘Gladly. Are you using protection?’

‘Dad,’ Kevin whispered, angrily, launching himself away from the door.

‘Just because neither one of you can get pregnant, doesn’t mean-’

‘We are not having sex,’ Kevin said. Certainly they weren’t now. His dad just looked at him, eyebrows raised. ‘Archie doesn’t want to rush things,’ Kevin added, staring determinedly at the floor.

‘I’m glad to hear it,’ his dad said. ‘But if you do-’

‘We’ll be sensible,’ Kevin interrupted again.

‘Good. That’s all I wanted to hear. Now, that’s not the only reason I wanted to talk to you.’

‘It isn’t?’ Kevin looked up, finally. Now that he was looking at him properly, Kevin could see how tense his dad looked. There were dark circles under his eyes like he hadn’t slept in days. He leant back in his chair and rubbed at his eyes with both hands. Kevin wondered when he had last eaten a real meal.

‘I’m heading back out in a while and I don’t know when I’m going to be back,’ his dad explained, sitting forward in his seat again so he could look at Kevin. ‘I’ve spoken to Alice and I want you to go and stay with her and Hal for a few days, just while the curfew’s in place.’

‘I’m okay here, Dad, really. I don’t go out after curfew and I lock all the doors when I’m inside.’

‘I know, but the Black Hood… he’s not going to be stopped by a locked door. And I don’t like how much I’ve been leaving you here on your own. I’d feel better if I knew someone was looking after you while I’m out there.’

Kevin understood that. And he supposed there were worse things than having a sleepover at Betty’s house for a few days. Although… there were better things too.

‘Mr. and Mrs. Cooper are always so busy though. I don’t want to get in their way. What if I stayed with Archie and his dad instead?’

Kevin’s dad laughed, louder than Kevin had heard him laugh in weeks. ‘You really think I’m going to say yes to that?’

Kevin crossed his arms. ‘Archie lives right next door to them anyway.’

‘And I’ll be making sure Fred knows you’re to be back at the Coopers’ house before curfew every night.’

‘He already knows what’s going on with Archie and me,’ Kevin said. ‘Archie told him this morning.’

‘Good. Then I’m sure we’ll be on the same page about that.’

Kevin’s only remaining hope was that they wouldn’t be.

‘Can I go now?’

‘You can go pack. You’ve only got a couple of hours to get to the Coopers’ house before curfew.’

It took all the willpower Kevin had not to stomp his feet like a toddler having a temper tantrum. Instead, he nodded once before turning back to the door in silence.

‘And Kevin.’ Kevin turned back to his dad, one hand on the door handle. ‘I’m glad if he makes you happy.’

Kevin felt an unexpected sob catch in his throat. ’He does.’

His dad nodded. ‘Just cool it down a little in the hallway, would you?’

Kevin let the door slam shut on his way out.

-

Kevin found Archie sitting gingerly on the edge of the desk chair in Kevin’s bedroom, drying his hair with a towel. He let the towel drop down to his shoulders when he saw Kevin in the doorway. His cheeks were flushed from rubbing the towel over them and his hair was sticking up wildly. Kevin couldn’t help himself. He walked over and smoothed Archie’s hair down with his fingers. Archie smiled up at him.

‘Am I banished from the house forever?’

’No,’ Kevin said. ‘But I’ve been banished to Betty’s house for the foreseeable future.’

‘Because of me?’ Archie asked, aghast.

‘No,’ Kevin said, through a laugh. ‘Because of the Black Hood. Dad doesn’t want me here on my own while the curfew is in place.’

‘Well, you could stay with my dad and me,’ Archie suggested.

‘I already tried that one.’ Kevin let his hands fall away from Archie’s hair, resting them on the damp towel on his shoulders instead. ‘He didn’t really take to the idea of us sleeping under the same roof after what he just saw in the hallway.’

‘Yeah, that makes sense,’ Archie said. Kevin hummed his agreement. ‘Well, at least you’ll only be next door.’

‘Under Alice Cooper’s watchful eye.’

Archie sighed. ‘We’re screwed.’

-

As predicted, Betty’s mom had the house on lockdown. She drove Betty and Kevin to and from school every single day, even though Betty had been walking to school from her house since the sixth grade. Archie and Jughead were both banned from visiting on school nights too. Kevin wasn’t entirely sure she even knew about him and Archie, she just didn’t really like Archie.

Kevin was sleeping in Polly’s room, which still smelt like baby powder, even though Polly and the twins had left weeks ago. It was nice to be in a house with other people in it, he had to admit, but it was weird not to be in his own bed, and it meant he went days at a time without seeing his dad. He would lie in Polly’s bed at night, staring at the ceiling, trying not to think about his dad out in the woods or driving around the town, hunting the man who had shot Archie’s dad.

Instead he thought about Archie. He thought about how annoying it was to be imprisoned in the house right next door to Archie’s and not even be allowed to walk to school together, never mind anything else. The school had even suspended all after school clubs and sports teams for the duration of the curfew, meaning they didn’t even have the excuse of needing to stay late at school to spend a little more time together.

Surprisingly, school itself was okay. He had been worried, that first Monday, that people would say things, once they found out about him and Archie, or look at them together with threats painted on their faces. They were looks he was used to, but Archie wasn’t yet, and for all that they had opened up that first weekend, and for all that Archie had insisted he didn’t want to hide, Kevin was still worried about putting Archie through it.

Of course, as usual, he needn’t have worried at all. He had been standing at his locker on Monday morning when Archie had appeared and kissed him square on the lips in front of a hallway full of people.

‘I can’t believe Mrs. Cooper won’t even let us walk to school together,’ Archie said, while Kevin just stared at him with his mouth hanging open. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Everyone’s looking at us.’

Archie glanced around. Everyone was looking at them. He shrugged. ‘They’ll get bored.’

‘Of gossip? In this town?’

‘I slept with a teacher and they got bored of that,’ Archie said, matter-of-factly.

And that’s when Kevin remembered. Archie had dealt with those looks before. Maybe not exactly the same looks but pretty close.

Archie was right, anyway. After a few days of whispers and furtive glances in the hall, everyone did get bored. Although Kevin thought that probably had rather a lot to do with the fact that Veronica had taken to walking three feet ahead of them wherever they went, giving off extremely ‘if you even think about saying something to my friends, I’ll murder you with my stilettos’ vibes.

Betty helped by covering with her mom on the weekends, when Archie and Kevin got to really hang out. Mostly they hung out at Archie’s house. Archie’s dad didn’t mind Kevin being there. He didn’t even mind Kevin and Archie being in Archie’s room with the door closed, which Kevin was fairly certain would not be allowed at his house when things got back to normal. Archie’s dad was always around though, and it made Kevin extremely uncomfortable any time he managed to get Archie’s belt unbuckled only to hear Fred yell up the stairs, asking if they wanted pizza for dinner.

In the end, rushing things wasn’t even an option.

‘Do you think we’ll ever get any time alone together before we move out of our dads’ houses?’ Kevin asked one lunch time. It was a warm, sunny day, so they were eating at a table outside with Betty and Veronica. Archie was sitting sideways, facing Kevin, with one leg up on the bench between them. Kevin’s arm rested on Archie’s knee and Archie was running little circles over the back of Kevin’s hand with his fingers while they spoke. Kevin had very quickly stopped caring about their public displays of affection once it became obvious that everyone knew what was going on and no one seemed to really care.

‘You have moved out of your dad’s house,’ Archie said. ‘That’s part of the problem.’ Even Archie had started to admit that the ‘rushing things’ phase had well and truly passed.

‘You could stay at my place this weekend while my parents are out of town,’ Veronica offered. ‘I’m sure Mrs. Cooper wouldn’t object. Providing, of course, she didn’t know Archie was going to be there.’ Kevin scrunched up his nose. Yeah, he really wanted to sleep with his boyfriend for the first time with said boyfriend’s ex in the next room.

‘No, thanks, Veronica,’ Kevin said. Sometimes he felt like she was trying just a little bit too hard to be okay with this whole thing.

He was about to make some sort of suggestion, like that they revisit the idea of just going back to his own empty house and hoping his dad didn’t come home unexpectedly. Archie had vehemently vetoed it every other time Kevin had brought it up, for fear of how Kevin’s dad would react if he did come home and catch them, but he knew Archie was getting annoyed by the constant interruptions too, so he was sure it was only a matter of time before he agreed. However, before Kevin could bring it up again, Betty perked up across the table from them and smiled.

‘Jughead?’ Kevin turned around and sure enough, there was Jughead, heading straight for their table. ‘What are you doing here?’ Betty asked, jumping up to great him. Before he had a chance to answer, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him like she hadn’t seen him in weeks. Veronica rolled her eyes.

‘God save me from all these star-crossed lovers.’

Betty sat back down next to Veronica, making room for Jughead to squeeze in on her other side.

‘What are you doing here?’ Archie repeated Betty’s question.

Jughead shrugged, threw his arm around Betty’s shoulder, and stole a handful of fries off Archie’s plate. ‘I haven’t seen my girlfriend in days. Mrs. Cooper is practically a prison warden, as you know, so I skipped English class and rode over here.’

‘Aww.’ Betty nuzzled into Jughead’s side. ‘I’m glad you did. But you shouldn’t skip class,’ she added.

Jughead rolled his eyes fondly. ‘By the way,’ he said, looking straight at Kevin. ‘Next time I insert myself into one of your dates, like a totally oblivious moron, you can just tell me to get lost, okay? I can take a hint.’ So, Archie had finally told him about their first non-date then.

‘Hey, Jughead,’ Veronica said, leaning around Betty to look at him. ‘Get lost.’

‘See,’ Jughead said. ‘Veronica’s got the idea.’

‘Veronica’s out of here, anyway.’ Veronica said, standing up. ‘I got a less than perfect score on my last history essay and I have some objections to raise before class starts. Besides, you’re all making me sick with envy. In general,’ she added to Kevin. ‘Not about anyone specifically.’

‘You know, Veronica,’ Jughead said, thoughtfully. ‘I always thought you could take over the world much more efficiently without a man getting in your way anyway.’

‘Thank you, Jughead,’ Veronica said, her hand over her heart. ‘That is so sweet.’

‘Any chance of your mom letting me in the house or you out of it on Saturday?’ Jughead asked Betty after they had all said goodbye to Veronica.

‘Doubtful,’ Betty said. ‘She wants Kevin and I to help her deep clean the whole house this weekend.’

‘What?’ Archie asked as Jughead groaned. ‘You didn’t tell me that,’ he said, poking Kevin in the side. ‘I thought we were going to see a movie this weekend.’

‘I forgot,’ Kevin said. ‘I’m sorry. She spoke to my dad the other day and I think he told her where I’ve been disappearing to when she’s not looking.’

Archie sighed. ‘Wanna go see a movie this weekend?’ He asked Jughead.

‘Might as well,’ Jughead replied. ‘Unless you want to help me take down Mrs. Cooper.’

‘Hey, that’s my mom you’re talking about,’ Betty chastised. ‘Besides, she could take you both.’

-

There was a report on the local news that evening about the curfew and the sheriff’s department’s failure to locate the Black Hood. Betty’s dad was watching it in the living room while Kevin and Betty did their homework together at the kitchen table. Kevin heard his dad’s voice and he and Betty both went to join Hal in the living room, where they watched Kevin’s dad talk about what exactly he had been doing over the past few weeks. It was the first time Kevin had seen his dad’s face in days. He hadn’t been shaving.

Kevin just about made it through dinner before excusing himself early for bed. He had almost started to feel comfortable in Betty’s house, even if it did feel like Betty’s mom was watching him all the time, but seeing his dad on the TV, hearing him talk about the reason Kevin was still there, had reminded Kevin of just how much he wanted to be in his own home.

Before Polly’s bedroom door had even closed behind him, he was looking for Archie’s number in his phone.

‘What are you wearing?’ Kevin asked, as soon as Archie answered.

Archie laughed. ‘I’m wearing the same thing I was wearing when you saw me at school.’

‘Boring.’ Kevin fell down on Polly’s bed. If he had been in Betty’s room he would have been able to see into Archie’s bedroom from her window, but he had already checked, and the window in Polly’s room was, of course, just out of range. ‘You’re supposed to lie and tell me you just got out of the shower.’

‘And that would make you feel better about not being allowed to leave Betty’s house and come over here?’

‘It would at least give me something to think about while I’m trapped here.’

‘Sorry, you’ll just have to imagine that on your own.’

‘Oh, don’t worry,’ Kevin assured him. ‘I will.’

‘What are you up to?’ Archie asked, blatantly changing the subject.

‘Well I was trying to have phone sex but obviously that’s not happening, so, nothing. I’m just lying here, wishing I was with you.’

‘I wish you were here too,’ Archie said.

Kevin could hardly believe that just a few short weeks ago he had been so worried that Archie didn’t really like him. Right now, that felt like the only thing he knew for certain.

‘Oh yeah?’ Kevin asked. ‘And what would you do if I was?’

‘I’m hanging up,’ Archie said.

‘No,’ Kevin begged. ‘Please no. I’ll die of boredom if you hang up. I promise I’ll stop. That’s not actually why I called. Let’s talk about something else. What were you really doing before I called?’

‘Finishing my english assignment, but I don’t think you called to talk about that either.’

‘No, I definitely did,’ Kevin said. ‘Tell me all about your english assignment.’

‘What’s going on?’ Archie asked, instead.

Kevin stared up at the ceiling, thinking about his answer. ‘I just want things to go back to normal already,’ he said at last. ‘I want my dad to go back to his normal shifts, I want to sleep in my own bed. I want you to sleep in my bed,’ he added, feeling particularly brave. Or maybe he just wanted to see how Archie would react. He had been having a lot of fun, these past few weeks, finding out how Archie reacted to certain things. It was just one of the many reasons he wanted to be able to get Archie properly alone. ‘It feels like we haven’t really been alone together since that first weekend, out by the river.’

‘You could try to sneak over here this weekend,’ Archie said. ‘You know my dad doesn’t mind.’

‘I said alone,’ Kevin replied. ‘Not to the soundtrack of your dad’s extensive dad rock collection, played obviously loudly while he stomps around the house in his work boots to let us know he’s there. We could sneak out right now, though…’

‘We’ve talked about this. Betty’s mom would kill me. Then she’d phone your dad and he’d probably kill me too.’

Kevin sighed. ’You’re right. I probably wouldn’t be able to get out of the house anyway. Betty’s mom is like a hawk. She’s always circling.’

‘Then I guess we’ll just have to wait,’ Archie said, and much as Kevin wished they didn’t have to, it felt pretty good to hear Archie say that he was willing to.

-

The town had settled into a steady rhythm in the first few weeks of the curfew. It wasn’t unusual to see people out earlier in the mornings, making the most of their daylight hours. There were a few people breaking the curfew, on the south side mostly, which gave Kevin’s dad plenty to complain about when he phoned every few days to check up on him. Their phone calls usually went the same way. Kevin would tell his dad about school, his dad would tell Kevin about some teenager they’d caught sneaking around after dark with a spray can in their hand, his dad would have no real news about the Black Hood. Kevin would ask when he could come home and his dad would say, ‘Soon, I hope.’ Kevin hoped so too.

Kevin and Archie stole moments whenever they could, which mostly meant between classes and at lunch now that Betty’s mom had figured out that Kevin and Archie were dating. Betty tried her best to come up with excuses for Kevin to leave, even though she herself barely saw Jughead these days either, but there seemed to be no end of tasks for Kevin and Betty to help out with around the house.

It wasn’t long though before people started to get sick of feeling trapped in their own homes. After those first few weeks, more and more people started to break the curfew. It was gradual at first. People stayed out just a little bit past sunset, making their ways back home slower than they should have. Then more and more people started to ignore it completely, staying out later and later. Without a single Black Hood sighting since the night he had attacked the two south side boys in the woods, people had started to feel safer, and when they felt safer, they didn’t feel like they needed to stay indoors anymore. It wasn’t long before there were so many people staying out after dark that Kevin’s dad could no longer realistically threaten them all with a night at the station.

So Kevin wasn’t entirely surprised when his dad finally called him one lunch time with the news that they were lifting the curfew.

‘I just got off the phone with Principal Weatherbee. I’m sure he’ll be making an announcement soon but I wanted to tell you myself.’

‘Are you sure it’s safe?’ Kevin asked.

‘No,’ his dad replied, honestly. ‘But we’re as sure as we can be, and people are getting restless. It’s hard to ask people to stay in their homes when the threat seems to have disappeared. Besides, I’m sick of sleeping in my car.’

Kevin ran straight into Archie in the hallway and pulled him into an empty classroom without a word, which, over the past few weeks, had become something of a habit, but not for this reason.

‘They’re lifting the curfew,’ he said, throwing his arms around Archie’s neck. ‘I am out from under the reign of Alice Cooper.’

‘Are you serious?’ Archie asked. Kevin nodded. ‘Why?’

Kevin shrugged. ’The Black Hood hasn’t shown himself in weeks. They think they found his hiding place and it looks like no one’s been there all that time. It doesn’t make sense to keep everyone under curfew if the Black Hood isn’t even in Riverdale anymore.’

‘But what if he comes back?’ Archie didn’t seem quite as thrilled about the end of the curfew as Kevin had hoped he would.

Kevin shrugged. ’Well, they’ll still be out looking for him. If he comes back, they’ll catch him.’

‘They didn’t before,’ Archie said. Kevin dropped his hands to his sides. He knew exactly what Archie would say next before he said it, and he didn’t want to hear it. ‘I should get the Red Circle back together.’

‘No,’ Kevin said, with meaning. ‘Archie, you can’t.’

‘I have to,’ Archie said, looking wounded. ‘I thought you said it made you feel safer knowing we were out there.’

‘That was before,’ Kevin said, willing Archie to understand.

‘Before what?’

‘Before this.’ Kevin gestured at the space between them. ‘Archie, the Black Hood has attacked people for being gay, he killed Ms. Grundy for sleeping with you-’

‘He shot my dad,’ Archie interrupted, his voice like stone.

‘Yes,’ Kevin said. He could feel himself getting more and more hysterical with every word, but this worry had been prickling at his skin for weeks and he didn’t think he could hold it in any more if he wanted to. ‘Do you think I don’t understand that, Archie? My dad has been out there every single night trying to catch him. I haven’t seen him in days. Every night I lie in Polly Cooper’s bed and wonder if I will ever get to be with my dad in our own home again, or if he’ll be the person who finds the Black Hood and gets shot for doing it.’

‘Hey,’ Archie put his hands on Kevin’s shoulders, trying to soothe him, but Kevin couldn’t let himself be soothed, not until he was finished.

‘I can just about handle it with my dad, Archie, because I’m used to it. I’m used to my parents risking their lives to keep other people safe. That’s their jobs. But it isn’t yours, and I can’t spend every night worrying that I might lose you and my dad, okay? I can’t. I know that you want to keep everyone safe but you can’t ask me to do that.’

‘Okay,’ Archie said, the moment Kevin stopped to take a breath. ‘Okay, I won’t.’

‘You won’t?’ Kevin wasn’t sure he had heard Archie properly.

‘I won’t,’ Archie repeated. ‘I won’t ask you to do that.’ He pulled Kevin into a hug and finally Kevin let himself be soothed. He relaxed completely into it, letting Archie hold him together. Archie ran one hand through Kevin’s hair and with the other just held him. ‘I can’t promise that I won’t face the Black Hood if I get the chance,’ Archie said, after a few minutes. ‘You know I can’t promise that. But I won’t go looking for him. I’ll leave that up to your dad.’

‘I guess that’s fair,’ Kevin said, wiping his eyes.

‘I wish your dad didn’t have to do it either,’ Archie said.

Kevin sighed. ‘I stopped wishing for that a long time ago.’

‘Hey,’ Archie said, once Kevin’s breathing had returned back to normal. ‘Do you think this means our football game with Greendale is back on for next weekend?’

Kevin groaned and pulled away from Archie. ‘Do I really have to come to that?’

‘Yes,’ Archie said. ‘You’re my boyfriend. We’re going to win and I’m going to run out to the stands and kiss you in front of the whole school, remember?’

Kevin smiled. He held Archie’s hands and swung their arms at their sides. ‘Is that what I am?’ he asked. ‘Your boyfriend?’

Archie rolled his eyes. ‘What do you think we’ve been doing here, Kevin?’

‘Just checking,’ Kevin said. He leaned forward and kissed Archie. ‘Say it again.’

‘Agree to come to the game,’ Archie countered.

Kevin sighed. ‘Fine. I’ll come to your stupid game. Now call me your boyfriend again.’

‘Lunch must be nearly over by now,’ Archie said, pulling away from Kevin. ‘We should probably get to class.’ He opened the classroom door and waited for Kevin to follow him.

‘You’re a tease, Archie Andrews,’ Kevin said, as he marched past Archie out of the classroom. At the last second, Archie caught his hand and kissed it.

‘You like me though,’ he said.

Before Kevin could protest, which is definitely what he was going to do, Veronica was in front of them, with one hand on each boy’s shoulder.

‘There you are,’ she said. ‘I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I should have known you were making out in some empty classroom. Look, I just heard about the curfew, thank God. My skin was starting to dry out from lack of fresh air. Anyway, dinner at Pop’s tonight to celebrate, on me, and I won’t take no for an answer. Betty and Jughead are already in so if I don’t see you two lovebirds there at seven p.m. on the dot, I will march over to your houses and drag you there myself. Be disgustingly in love on someone else’s time.’

Then, just as fast as she had appeared, she was gone, lost in the crowd of students excitedly sharing the news that they could finally leave their houses tonight.

‘So I guess we’re having dinner with Veronica tonight,’ Kevin said.

‘I guess so,’ Archie agreed, wrapping both of his arms around Kevin’s waist from behind. ‘But you know what else the curfew ending means?’ he asked.

Kevin wrapped his own arms around Archie’s. ‘It means I don’t have to stay at Betty’s house anymore.’

‘And I’m assuming it means your dad will go back to his regular, much more predictable working hours,’ Archie added.

‘I think it probably does,’ Kevin agreed. ‘But of course, he’ll likely be out all night tonight, getting everyone prepped for their next moves.’

‘Maybe I should come back with you after we’ve had dinner with Veronica,’ Archie suggested. ‘So we can worry about your dad together, instead of you having to worry about him alone.’

‘I think we can come up with something better than that to do,’ Kevin said, before turning around in Archie’s arms and kissing him, right there in front of the whole school.

Kevin had spent so much time worrying over the past few weeks, about his dad and about Archie.

It felt really good to know that he didn’t have to worry about Archie anymore.


End file.
